Chapter 537: Out of Favor

When the second and fourth princes "lately arrived", the scroll had already been reduced from twelve to nine. Everyone knew it, so no one would say no.

The people in the scroll might not be the ones they liked or were willing to choose, but since it was placed here, it meant that they could only choose one of them. Therefore, the two brothers had a calm expression and pretended to look around the scroll before deciding on the candidates.

The second prince chose the young lady of the Ling family, and the fourth prince chose the young lady of the Zeng family. Their brothers were the companions of the eldest and third princes, respectively, so a marriage brought the four of them closer together.

Queen Yan looked at the candidates they had chosen with satisfaction, and then said.

"After the marriage, you two should also go to the court to do some work. Concubine Hui's family is not powerful, and there is no father or brother to help you, so I will ask the people in the Earl's Mansion to pay more attention to you."

At this point, the two could only thank them.

The eldest prince stood aside, still looking at his brothers calmly, but the third prince said something more outstanding.

"Didn't the fourth brother say that he liked the navy? When you get married, please ask mother to find a way to send you to Quanzhou. Isn't the third uncle training the navy there? You will be so happy when you go there."

The fourth prince looked up and glanced at Queen Yan and the third prince after hearing this, and seemed to be confirming the possibility of this matter.

Queen Yan thought about the current situation in the court, so she was determined to win over the second and fourth princes, so she nodded and said along with the words of the third prince.

"It's not impossible, but you still have to calm down before getting married."

These words gave the fourth prince enough hope, so he was more grateful to Queen Yan at this moment.

The selection of concubines for the brothers was almost settled this morning. When leaving Changchun Palace, the second and fourth princes said.

"It's a rare trip to the palace. We have to go see our mother. Are the eldest brother and the third brother leaving the palace now?"

"Yes, the emperor has set homework for me a few days ago. I haven't finished it yet. The eldest brother said that he would supervise me and not be lazy."

The words of the third prince made the second and fourth princes look envious, but they also knew that people can't be compared with each other. The most important thing for them now is to save their lives, so they won't show too much of their true attitude.

So they nodded and went their separate ways.

On the way to Haining Palace, the fourth prince was still immersed in the promise made by Queen Yan just now, but the second prince's face was much darker, thinking carefully about the current situation.

The emperor has many children, including several princes.

The eldest brother and the third brother were born to Queen Yan. The status of being a legitimate child is not something they can compare with casually. In addition, they are protected by the Earl's Mansion and will soon marry with other families, so the follow-up power is great.

Looking at the younger seventh and eighth brothers, who are still young now, they have a favored mother and a strong family to protect them, so they are naturally safe and worry-free.

Poor him and the fourth brother, their father doesn't love them and their mother is powerless.

If they don't find a suitable helper, I'm afraid that the days after marriage will be even more difficult. Therefore, compared with the naivety of the fourth prince, he now shows the worry that an adult prince should have.

"Second brother, what are you thinking about?"

"Thinking about our future."

"What is there to think about? It's just to follow the eldest brother and do your own things well. You and I can't compete for that position. Instead of wasting time doing those things, it's better to put yourself in the right position now and do what you should do. The eldest brother sees it, and the queen sees it, and they will give us what we deserve."

His thoughts are simple, but not without reason.

But the second prince still feels that he has put the weight of his life on others, so he is always worried, but it's useless to argue with the fourth brother, so he doesn't say more.

After seeing their mother, the two brothers talked about today's selection of concubines.

Concubine Hui sighed. How could she not know that her children made such a choice for survival, but she was powerless to help them. So although she felt distressed, she could only comfort them in a good temper.

"Since you have been chosen as the principal concubine, you should live a good life in the future. Mother doesn't have anything valuable to give you, but these two hairpins were sent by His Majesty when he was canonized. They have good meanings. I will give them to you two and send them as betrothal gifts to the young ladies of Zeng and Ling's families."

After saying that, she asked the palace maid beside her to take out the box.

The box was made by the Inner Court. Because it was specially made when the concubine was canonized, even the box was inlaid with gems, so it was extremely luxurious.

Looking at the box, the second prince felt an indescribable sadness in his heart.

Mother worked hard for them all her life, but in the end, even the best jewelry had to be used as their gifts. It felt wronged just thinking about it.

But they had suffered such grievances since childhood. Although they were all sons of the emperor and the noble princes of the Daxing Dynasty, in real comparison, the eldest brother and the third brother were noble, and the seventh and eighth brothers were also noble.

The only princes who were not noble were probably him and the fourth brother.

So when he thought of this, he secretly decided in his heart that he could not live like this in this life. Either fight to the death or live in mediocrity.

He chose the former.

After figuring out these things, the whole person relaxed a lot, but this road is destined to be difficult, and if you are not careful, you may be doomed, but for the second prince, these are predictable, so he is not afraid.

After taking the box, he kowtowed to his mother solemnly, and then said.

"I remember your kindness, mother. After I get married, I will do my best to let you enjoy the joy of children and grandchildren."

Hui Fei is not a person with great ambitions, so she feels that her ancestors have been blessed to be able to become one of the four concubines in this life. Therefore, when she heard the words of the second prince, she was almost in tears, and then said.

"Okay, mother will wait for your child to be born. Wait for me to pick a few easy-to-get-along-with nannies to prepare, and then send them to your respective wives to help."

"Thank you, mother."

The two brothers stayed in Haining Palace for lunch before leaving the palace.

The fourth prince looked like a carefree little god, which made the second prince beside him look bitter and resentful. This scene happened to be seen by Guo Silang who came to the palace to report on his work.

Thinking of what his grandfather said to him before he left, Guo Silang had some other thoughts in his mind.